Another trip that could be a good representation was my trip to Rajbari, Faridpur, around 4 hour drive from Dhaka City. There, I was involved in similar activities with a more focus on struggling members. The reason why I was more interested in this group was that struggling members were the poorest of the poor. And, I wanted to see what kind of impact micro loans might have had on them and to assess the program and report to head office if there was anything wrong. Rajbari Branch had 3300 members under 62 centres. The branch had 5 centre managers.
Among the members, the number of basic loan users was 2700 The micro enterprise credit users were 520. Starting the first day, I observed loan disbursement at the branch. Below is just a few sample examples
Female member doing a family business in business.
Female member whose husband had a grocery shop. Their initial loan was 10.000, the second loan was 20.000 taka.
Female member whose husband repairs buses. While I was there, this husband asked the branch manager if monthly payment was an option. Because GB accepts only weekly payment, that was not possible according to the branch manager. For some members, especially those who make profit over some time, weekly payment was not a good option.
Female member who took a loan for milking cow.
At this branch, my first centre meeting started early in the morning. The centre had 73 members but the participation was as low as 19 women.The number of basic loan users was around 60 and micro enterprise loan users were around 10. In the second centre meeting the participation was again low. The centre had 69 members but only 33 of them showed up that day but many of them sent their payment one way or another. The main reason for absence according to the branch manager was sickness or pregnancy. In this centre, the number of basic loan users was 55, micro enterprise loan users were 16. The oldest membership was 20 years. When I asked if there was any women doing a separate work from husband, only one woman raised her hand. Her husband was dead. As a general rule, women's economic activities are not separate than their husbands'. This member was using the loan to produce fishing net. Women were doing their work mostly at home. Handling market was man's job. The third centre meeting I attended had 58 members and again the participation was low around 21. The number of basic loan user was 49. Oldest membership was 22 years. After the centre meeting, I talked to one of the members who took a loan from a moneylender long time ago to take her husband to the hospital. She said she paid too much interest to the moneylender. She had paid the moneylender 10 taka for 100 taka every month. Since GB started operating in Bangladesh, the influence of moneylenders in the rural areas has significantly decreased, which is a great thing. and It is definitely empowering if I define the term that way.
In rural villages depending on borrowers' conditions, people's living conditions vary. Some live in bamboo houses, some live in houses that have steel walls with a cement base. Especially in wintertime, cold weather gives rural people living in these houses a really hard time. Most of them often get sick.
Beggars are definitely an interesting case and they need more support. One of the members that I met was very successful paying her loan even though she did not have to. She was paying her weekly payment actually just to get the second loan more quickly. In her last application, the member had received 2000 taka and before 1000 taka. The member had 4 goats and her daily income was only 30-40 taka, which indicates that she is among the poorest of the poor. This member indicated that she wanted to get another loan from GB to restore the house. The member had some health problems. Despite her age, she was still able to work. Her job was to keep the bazaar road clean. She was earning 40 taka a day for the job. Despite the loan, she was still accepting money from the public, but she was not doing it full time any more. This specific struggling member had some family members in the neighborhood and she was getting some economic support from them as well.
After seeing this and other struggling members, I felt that micro loan was helping them, as long as they used the loan for productive purposes rather than consumption. However, for a struggling member, it is more likely that consumption and some other expenses related to health and shelter have more priority. One important aspect of giving loans the beggars is that it is easier to monitor them in terms of whether or not they use the loan for a productive purpose. The loan for beggars is actually used for something and it is much easier to assess the impact as they got nothing in their possession and the loan does not become a part of the family budget.
For this branch, I had found centre meeting participation relatively less than the other branches that I had visited before. However, the branch was more organized. In terms of providing alternative solution for low-income rural people’s financial needs, GB had some positive impact. Borrowing from moneylenders was a common thing in rural Bangladesh and most of the time people pay the loan back to moneylenders with excessive interest, which is very exploitative. But now, instead, the members could go to GB and get a loan. This way, at least they know what they need to pay at the end of day.
